Tolhoek climbs to first pro victory in the Tour de Suisse
Antwan Tolhoek has won the sixth stage in the Tour de Suisse. The 25-year-old Dutchman attacked out of a large leading group on the Flumserberg and climbed to his first victory as a professional cyclist.
For Team Jumbo-Visma it is already the twenty-eighth victory of the season. Earlier today, Dylan Groenewegen won the first stage in the ZLM Tour.
The stage with start in Einsiedeln was the first real mountain stage in the Swiss WorldTour stage race. After 25 kilometres, the decisive breakaway comprising 24 riders got established, including Team Jumbo-Visma’s Tolhoek and Bert-Jan Lindeman. The latter also rode a very strong race. He ensured that the leading group stayed together until the Flumserberg. Tolhoek attacked a few times, but the decisive attack came in the last three kilometres. The Dutch climber held off a charge by Egan Bernal.
“This is a very special feeling”, Tolhoek said. “Three years ago I won the mountain jersey in this race and now I have won my first professional race at WorldTour level here: an indescribable feeling. Also my compliments to the team and the way we raced. We are with only five riders, but we continue to fight every day. Bert-Jan was very strong today and he proved to be invaluable for me by constantly pulling in front of the group. I heard on the radio that Bernal was coming. Last year, I got beaten by him in California. I didn’t want that to happen again.”